1
Exeter's verdict on injury that ruled Cowan-Dickie out for England
Exeter boss Rob Baxter has spoken about the ankle ligament injury that has forced Chiefs hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie to give up his place in the England squad for next month’s series of internationals at Twickenham. The hooker initially limped off during his club’s Gallagher Premiership win last Saturday at Wasps, making him a doubt for Test squad duty.
ADVERTISEMENT
Despite this concern, Cowan-Dickie was included by Eddie Jones in the 34-strong England squad announced on Monday afternoon, a selection that suggested the injury might not be as bad as was initially feared. However, scan results eventually ruled the forward out on Tuesday afternoon and it led to the recall of Jamie George, one of Monday’s most high profile squad exclusions.
Club coach Baxter has now shed further light on the prognosis surrounding Cowan-Dickie, explaining at his midweek Exeter media briefing that his player should be back in contention for the December 11 Champions Cup clash with Montpellier.
“He has had a scan. The good news is that it doesn’t require an operation but it is a significant (ankle ligament) injury that is going to keep him out at least for the duration of the autumn internationals. Hopefully, we will see him back pre-Europe. It’s a six-to-eight-week type of injury recovery.
“It’s a blow for us. Obviously, we would have only had him for one more game which would have been this weekend (this Saturday versus London Irish), then he would have been away with England. It’s a blow for us but in reality, we are probably only going to miss him for a couple of games throughout that period as he would have been away with England.
TEAM NEWS: It's been a madcap 24 hours for Jamie George – unwanted on Monday, then called back in by Eddie Jones on Tuesday #England #Sarries
https://t.co/oZjdwB148L— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 19, 2021
“It’s probably a bigger blow for Luke and England than it is for us in an odd kind of way. What we have got to do now is help him with his rebab, get him back and firing and if he plays well through the Christmas period, which includes the big European games, then he will put himself back in the ring-seat for getting back with England in the Six Nations.”
Having anticipated Cowan-Dickie, who toured with this year’s Lions in South Africa, would have been unavailable for the duration of the autumn international series if he was playing for England, Baxter added that Exeter are well covered anyway despite his absence now being for an injury-related reason. “Jack Yeandle always steps in for us and does a great job. It is one of the big strengths of the club how well he has played whenever he has been required and often he has even kept Luke out of the team when Luke is here anyway.
ADVERTISEMENT
“Jack Innard has been improving all the time, getting some genuine game time and has been picked above those guys in previous games this season. We have got some good options. Jordon Poole is getting game time at Coventry.
“Ollie Burrows is looking good playing for the uni. Max Norey is now down playing in Plymouth. We have got guys who are playing so we have got guys who can come and fit in, but that is just the nature of the beast. We are fortunate we haven’t got any hooker injuries other than Luke, which we would have been covering at this period anyway.”
"He was very emotional, very upset by what happened…"
– Last Sunday was the first time Dave Ewers was seen in action since his cruel ban robbed him of Exeter playoff appearances and a long-awaited England call #Exeter #PremRugby #SALvEXEhttps://t.co/NK8Cec4NtU
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 6, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
It will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
1 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
2 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
28 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
2 Go to commentsIt was a let’s-see-what-you're-made-of type of a game. The Bulls do look good when the opposition allows them to, but Munster shut them down, and they could not find a way through. Jake should be very worried about their chances in the competition.
2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to commentsSad that this was not confirmed. When administrators talk about expanding the game they evidently don’t include pathways to the top tier of rugby for teams outside of the old boys club. Rugby deserves better, and certainly Georgia does.
2 Go to commentsLions might take him on if they move on Van Rooyen but I doubt he will want to go back, might consider it a step backwards for himself. Sharks would take him on but if Plumtree goes on to win the challenge cup they will keep him on. Also sharks showing some promising signs recently. Stormers and Bulls are stable and Springboks are already filled up. Quality coach though, interesting to see where he ends up
1 Go to commentsAnd the person responsible for creating a culture of accountability is?
3 Go to commentsMore useless words from Ben Smith -Please get another team to write about. SA really dont need your input, it suck anyway.
264 Go to comments